Italy blocks exile deal

Italy threw a spanner in the works today just as Israel and the Palestinians agreed to terms for ending the 36 day siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.

The deal included the deportation of 13 suspected militants holed up in the church but Israel said it could not find a country willing to take in the men after designated nation Italy refused to give them refuge.

The Italian government was annoyed it had not been kept informed of the developments or even told that it was to be the destination for the church gunmen.

It even ordered the air force to stop any British military aircraft carrying the 13 from landing on Italian soil.

Italy said it would consider taking the 13 men if such a request was made.

‘‘There are still things to clarify: for example, in what capacity would they come to Italy?’’ said Defence Minister Antonio Martino.

Negotiators had named Italy as the preferred destination, but a US diplomatic official acknowledged that the Italians had largely been kept out of the loop.

The two sides also remained at odds over whether Israel or the Palestinians would collect the gunmen’s weapons, said one of the wanted Palestinians in the compound.

One of the top wanted men in the church, built over Jesus’ traditional birthplace, said he and the other 12 have agreed to go into exile in Italy.

Another 26 gunmen would be transferred from the besieged compound to the Gaza Strip, said Abdullah Daoud, the head of Palestinian intelligence in Bethlehem.

During the afternoon, there were signs that the Israeli military was preparing for an end to the standoff.

Troops erected metal detectors and four large white panels near the low-slung Gate of Humility - the basilica’s main entrance - apparently to keep those emerging from the view of journalists watching from rooftops overlooking Manger Square.

However, army officials said they did not expect any developments until perhaps early Wednesday.

Under the deal, the 13 Palestinians are to be transported by US officials to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport and then sent to Italy under British guard, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A withdrawal from Bethlehem would mean that Israel’s military offensive in the West Bank, launched on March 29 against Palestinian militants, would effectively come to an end.

However, the Israeli army later said the agreement was being held up because Israel could not find a host country for the deportees.

‘‘I assume it, too, will be solved,’’ said Israeli army Colonel Marcel Aviv.

In Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was to meet President George Bush who has been pushing for an Israeli withdrawal from all Palestinian-run areas.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, meanwhile, came under massive criticism at home for agreeing to the deportation - a first in the long conflict with Israel.

Since capturing the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, Israel has expelled hundreds of Palestinian activists, but always in a unilateral move.

A senior leader of Arafat’s Fatah movement in the West Bank, Hussein al-Sheik, said approving exile set a dangerous precedent.

Deportations are considered by many Palestinians as the bitterest of punishments. Israel ended the practice a decade ago, after it deported 400 Islamic militants to south Lebanon for a year.

At the Bethlehem church, those slated for deportation came under pressure not to accept the deal.

The leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, called one of his followers in the compound, Aziz Abayat, and told him that in going into exile, he would not have the group’s backing.

"Sheik Yassin told us that ... anyone who accepts exile does not represent the movement’s position,’’ Abayat said.

Those remaining inside include the 39 gunmen, as well as civilians, clerics, policemen and 10 foreign demonstrators who slipped past the Israelis into the church last week to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

The gunmen today signed documents saying they agreed to their intended destinations - Gaza and Italy, respectively, said a source in the church. Those in exile would remain abroad until there is a Palestinian state, the source said.

According to a Palestinian list of names obtained by The Associated Press, those slated for exile include nine members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, a militia linked to Arafat’s Fatah movement, as well as three Hamas members and Daoud, the Bethlehem intelligence chief.

Several of those on the list are accused by Israel of involvement in bombing and shooting attacks on Israelis.

As word spread in Bethlehem that the standoff might end soon, some of relatives of those slated for deportation flocked to Manger Square.

Zahia Khamis, 72, came to bid farewell to her nephew, Anan, an activist in the Al Aqsa militia.

Speaking to her nephew by mobile phone, she said: ‘‘I am crying because you are leaving your town. I know it is not your choice, but take care.’’

The outline of the Bethlehem deal was put together in intensive negotiations over the past few days involving the CIA, Vatican and European Union officials.